Malvern Preparatory School, commonly known as Malvern Prep, is an independent, all-boys Catholic middle school and college preparatory high school in Malvern, Pennsylvania, within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school is supported by Order of Saint Augustine and is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association.
Malvern Prep is a member of the Inter-Academic League, which also includes Episcopal Academy, Germantown Academy, Penn Charter, The Haverford School, and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
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History
Malvern Preparatory School is the direct continuation of the academy program founded in 1842 by the Augustinians as the “preparatory” school for what is now Villanova University. The Augustinian community purchased the farm called Belle-Aire in January 1842, to establish a college and monastery under the patronage of St. Thomas of Villanova.
In 1922, due to the expansion of Villanova's college program and the growing distinctions between the academy's attendees and the college's, it was decided to remove the academy from Villanova's campus. The Rosengarten family of Malvern sold a 143 acres (58 ha) part of its old farm between Warren Avenue and Paoli Pike to the Augustinians, and the academy relocated to become Malvern Preparatory School. The property included the site of the Paoli Massacre, a Revolutionary War battlefield that Malvern Prep owned until 2000, when the local municipality, the Borough of Malvern, purchased it for preservation purposes.
Only two original buildings were suitable for classes and are still preserved: the original farmhouse (Austin Hall) and another farm building (the Friary, or Alber's Hall). Because the school needed more space, it built three new buildings in 1924. The first graduating class of Malvern Prep, almost all of whom were boarders, graduated in 1926.
Malvern Prep reached 200 students in 1953 and underwent another construction phase, erecting six new buildings over the next eight years. Over the next twenty years, the number of boarders decreased, eventually to zero; the school is now entirely a day school. The school erected a new indoor sports center (O'Neill Sports Center), a dining hall (Stewart Hall, a then-existing building, Villanova Hall), and several athletic fields in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Malvern Prep has undergone several new constructions in recent years, with a new art center named in honor of the former president, Reverend David J. Duffy, O.S.A. '48, and a new outdoor athletic complex bearing the name of legendary former football coach Gamp Pellegrini.
Augustinians in North America
The North American Augustinian order was founded in 1796 when Irish friars arrived in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the order the following year. Friars established schools, a university, and other works throughout the Americas, also including Villanova University in Philadelphia and Merrimack College. While this school was founded in 1842, by 1909, two Augustinian houses and a school had been established in Chicago in 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 a school in Ojai and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma; in 1947 Merrimack College; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania; 1954 a school in Detroit, Michigan; 1959 a school in New Jersey and in 1962 a school in Illinois.
Curriculum
Malvern offers Advanced Placement courses in Computer Science, Literature and Composition, Spanish, Latin, Calculus (AB and BC), Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (Mechanics and Electro/Magnetism), Environmental Science, Economics (Micro and Macro), U.S. Government, and U.S. History. Malvern also offers a wide variety of elective/humanities courses such as Music Theory, Entrepreneurship, Elements of Philosophy, Medical Ethics, Music Recording and Technology, and Graphic Design.
Graduates from Malvern typically attend schools such as Villanova University, the University of Notre Dame, Boston College, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Pennsylvania State University, Drexel University, and Johns Hopkins University.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
Malvern, a member of the Inter-Ac League, participates in eighteen varsity sports: baseball, basketball, rowing crew, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, indoor track, lacrosse, soccer, squash, swimming & diving, tennis, water polo, wrestling, rugby, and sailing.
Baseball
Malvern Prep’s varsity baseball team, the Friars, competes in the Inter-Academic League and in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) postseason. The program won 28 Inter-Ac championships between 1980 and 2026, and 12 PAISAA state championships between 2006 and 2026. Alumni of the program who played in Major League Baseball include Ben Davis, Phil Gosselin, and Tim Cooney.
Malvern Prep's football and basketball programs are two of the most successful in southeast Pennsylvania, frequently finishing in the "Inquirer's Top Ten", published by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dave Gueriera currently coaches the football team, and Paul Romanczuk is the head coach of the school's basketball team.
Malvern's Ice Hockey team holds the most titles in the Varsity AAA Flyers Cup, the highest level of High School Hockey in Pennsylvania. Malvern won the Varsity AAA Flyers Cup five consecutive seasons, 2001 to 2005 (8 in succession; 1987, 1990, and 1997). Malvern has also won the Pennsylvania Varsity AAA State Championship twice (1990 & 2004). Head coach Dave Dorman leads the current team. Many former players have gone on to play Division 1 (NCAA), Division 1 Club (ACHA), and even professionally in the NHL and across Europe.
Malvern started a rugby team in the spring of 2010, playing in the Brandywine district of EPRU. Malvern learned to play the game under head coach Dennis Melesky and Assistant Wayne DiMarco. Soon, the team was hitting the pitch and playing experienced teams. The team finished 6–1 on the season. Malvern's varsity team has ranked among the top 50 in the country.
In 2006, Malvern Prep's Lacrosse team, coached by John McEvoy, went on to win the Pennsylvania State Lacrosse Championship and boasted three All-Americans. Today, the team is coached by Matt Mackrides. In 2014, the Lacrosse team was undefeated, capturing the coveted "24-0" season.
Notable alumni
David Boreanaz (Class of 1987), actor
Tim Cooney (Class of 2009), former professional baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals
Jim Croce (post-graduate), former folk and rock singer-songwriter
Ben Davis (Class of 1995), former professional baseball player, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres
David DiLucia (Class of 1988), tennis player
Fran Dunphy (Class of 1967), basketball coach
Larry Farnese (Class of 1986), Pennsylvania state senator
Phil Gosselin (Class of 2007), Major League Baseball player
Michael Gostigian (Class of 1981), pentathlete, three-time Olympian for United States
Alex Hornibrook (Class of 2015), former college football quarterback
Bill Kuharich (Class of 1971), National Football League executive
Wayne Millner (Class of 1931), National Football League player, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
Carl Nassib (Class of 2011), National Football League player
Ryan Nassib (Class of 2008), National Football League player
Chris Newell (Class of 2019), baseball player in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization